As the trio get settled on the Starfire Breeze they learn that among their fellow passengers are the participants of a neurology conference heralding breakthroughs in the field. Also aboard the ship are several FBI agents who have reason to believe a group which calls itself Leave it to God is targeting Harrison Featherman, a neurosurgeon attending the conference. To make matters even more interesting, Harrison Featherman’s ex-wife, Margaret Featherman, herself a renowned genetics researcher, along with three of her long time friends are taking the cruise.

Just two days into the cruise, Margaret Featherman is missing, presumed to have fallen off the ship. The ship’s security camera recorded her fall, but the only witness is Mike Conyers, an elderly gentleman in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Beau correctly determines tat Mr. Conyers has, indeed, witnessed Margaret’s fall. In reporting the incident to the ship’s security staff, Beau is inadvertently asked to help with the investigation because he is mistaken for an FBI agent with a similar sounding last name.

J.A. Jance is a master at producing readable psychological suspense novels. Her latest effort, Birds of Prey upholds her fine tradition. If the reader is able to accept the reason for Beau’s presence on the cruise ship to begin with, which, admittedly, is a little farfetched, the rest of the story is perfectly plausible and logical. I especially enjoyed Beaumont being mistaken for Bowman which allowed Beau access to some significant information.

Ms. Jance as always, peoples her books with characters that are easily imagined as real. Lars, for example, has suffered through the loss of his first wife to Alzheimer’s so he is sympathetic to Lucy Conyers’ plight with her husband, yet he grieves over Mike’s premature death because he feels he might have prevented it. It is interesting to note how Beau has matured and changed through his fifteen appearances. He has dealt admirably with his alcoholism, yet he still succumbs to other temptations that cross his path. Margaret Featherman, initially, is an easy person to despise, but by the end of the novel one can excuse her gruff behavior, understanding the difficulties she has endured and learned to cope with during her life.

One technical point caused me to scratch my head in disbelief, however. Margaret, presumably, has discovered a “genetic patch” capable of preventing Down’s Syndrome in the developing fetus. It is my understanding that individuals which have Down’s Syndrome in each and every one of their cells have an extra sex chromosome. If such is the case, then inserting a “genetic patch” could only normalize the cells yet to be developed, not the ones that already compose the embryo. How is this problem resolved via the patch? The solution to the Down’s Syndrome problem does not really effect the plot, and doesn’t have to be resolved for the solution to the mystery, it is just a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit neatly into any hole.

Once again Ms. Jance’s compelling work kept me completely engrossed. I especially enjoy her J.P. Beaumont series. I have one question, however. I am not able to discern the significance of the title with respect to the plot of the book. Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

--Andy Plonka